You can plan for a game all year, but this isn’t football, and you don’t know how the ball bounces until you step on the court and play it out. This Raptor team has won some huge games (Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Orlando), but also dropped a couple gawd-awful ones (Sacramento, Golden State).

A few weeks ago I talked a couple times about every game being a must win until the end of the year. Unfortunately, that level of effort hasn’t been there each game, fortunately the Bulls have been utterly plagued with injury, and on a 9 game losing streak of their own. So while they aren’t out of the playoffs, there is a way to go to maintain a playoff seed (and hopefully move up), as well as building some positive momentum heading into the playoffs. The last thing this team needs is to stumble backwards into the first round and get rolled over by whoever we end up play (it looks like Cleveland for now).

That process was started Wednesday against the Hawks, where the Raptors hung around until the last 2 minutes of the game, then grabbed the bull by the horns and won it on a Chris Bosh jumper with 2 seconds left. With 16 games left (8 on the road and 4 back-to-backs), that game could be a turning point for the Raptors; they just need to build on the positives that came out of it, and apply it to the rest.

They can start tonight against the Thunder, who dropped a tough game to the Bobcats on Wednesday. I checked in with Royce Young from Daily Thunder about his team:

Russell Westbrook has had some MONSTER games the last month. While Kevin Durant is the franchise, would it be fair to say that as Westrbook goes, so do the Thunder? Is it overshooting to put him in the same league as Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Derick Rose?
It’s absolutely fair to say as Westbrook goes, so do the Thunder. When he dishes out 10 or more assists, the Thunder plays over .700 basketball. Since he’s made his big progression starting in the middle of December, OKC is 28-11. Durant is the best player on the team and obviously the most valuable, but Westbrook is a close second. A lot of the opportunities to score Durant gets are created by Westbrook. As for putting him in the upper tier of point guards, I don’t think we’re there yet. Though you could make a strong case he’s outperformed Rose to this point in their careers.

Given how the Thunder have owned the Jazz all year, and are a game and a half out of 8th, how important is it to maintain the 5th seed? Is Utah the desired match-up?
Utah is absolutely the desired matchup. The things Utah struggles with – length, athleticism, speed, youth – Oklahoma City has. I think the 3-0 record is a little misleading in the sense that people think OKC owns Utah, but if there’s one team the Thunder wants matchup-wise, it’s the Jazz.

One of the rumours I’ve heard as a possible destination for Chris Bosh is Oklahoma City, would he be a good fit? How does Durant at PF and Bosh at C sound to you (match-up hell)?
Yeah that’s something Thunder fans talk about a lot. While I don’t see it happening, it is fun to think about. Bosh could definitely start at center, giving OKC a front line of Durant, Jeff Green and Bosh with the super-athletic Serge Ibaka and gritty Nick Collison coming off the bench. I’d say the Thunder would be a 60-win caliber team. But again, the chances of Bosh coming to OKC are pretty slim.

I always thought Toronto Raptor fans were crazy-obsessed…until I stumbled on your blog earlier in the year and just fell in love with the discussion you guys get. All I can say is wow! Talk about OKC fans and their passion for the game.
I can’t say how unbelievably impressive it is how dedicated Thunder fans are. It’s a true passion right now. Maybe a little bit of it is still infatuation with the new girl in town, but I think Thunder fans are some of the best. A game never has fewer than 17,000 at it (capacity 18,206). This state is college football crazed, but with the Thunder being the only pro sport in town, I think a good comparison for what OKC will be is what Green Bay is with the Packers. I feel incredibly fortunate to get to root for these guys in this city. The team is fun, management is wonderful and the fan base is excited and passionate. It’s really a perfect combination.

With Calderon starting, he will have his hands absolutely full with Westbrook, who is fast becoming one of my favourite players in the league. Over the last 10, Westbrook is averaging 17.2pts 4.9ast 9.7ast while shooting 50.8% from the field. Don’t fool yourselves, the Raptors beat the Hawks because Bargnani and Turkoglu stepped up, not because of Jose’s insertion into the starting 5 (Bibby is an old man). Tonight, it probably will get a bit ugly for Jose. I almost don’t even mind if Westbrook drops 30 from the perimeter if Calderon stays in front of him and keeps him out of the paint (limiting penetration and distribution).

The Thunder have missed Hardens perimeter scoring recently, so his expected return to the lineup tonight (as of publishing this piece) is a big boon for OKC. Kyle Weaver has contributed exactly zero in his absence, something we’ve come to expect from far too many of our own; sadly.

For this team to have any hope of going into the post-season on a positive note, they will need both Bargnani and Turkoglu to give that same level of effort and production they got from the the Hawks game.

Bargnani won’t have his hands as full as he did with Smith, and whatever Hedo hives up on defense, he should be able to get back on offense. Hedo especially needs to keep Durant out of the paint, and by extension, off the foul line where he wreaks most of his havoc.

All said and done, this game comes back to the point, and how well a job Calderon and Jack do at keeping Westbrook in check. The Thunder are 1.5 point favourites with an over/under of 209; not exactly a big endorsement for them, especially since they are on the road. This is anyones game, so expect a high scoring affair with big swings.

Come join us at Sports Centre Cafe tonight for Raptor Fans Friday.

For all our Persian readers, happy Naw Ruz (New Year)!

What else do you want me to do? Do you want me to score 30, 40 points a game? Twenty blocks a game? That’s not my game. That’s not what I do. I try to get these guys going, and that’s pretty much it. I’m not weak-minded by any means. I know that we’re going to be good this year. I think we have time to turn it around. That’s the plain fact. You can’t put the emphasis on one person … it’s a team sport.

While it was a bit self-righteous and dramatic, Chris Bosh drives home the point that he can’t do it himself. Not many in the NBA can; maybe 5 or 6. Even then, he’s not a Wade or LeBron who has the ball in his hands all the time and can take control of the game at any moment. He’s a power forward, meaning that someone has to get him the rock, in good position, and the rest of the team needs to make themselves useful so he has space to operate.

For the most part this season, Bosh has taken good shots. The 15 lbs of muscle he added over the summer has made it harder for defenses to push him off the block and keep him off the boards. He still likes to shoot that jumper, but he does have a great shot for a forward in a jump shooting league; the only guys who don’t shoot are the ones who can’t. So why is he getting so much flack for the Raptors recent woes? The team is 3-10 since the All-Star break (3-4 without him in the lineup).

You take a look at his stats since the break, and he’s averaging 22pts 8.7rebs 3.2ast and 2to. His assists are up, but the rest of his game is down. Coming back from an ankle injury is not an easy task, you will always favour it and wont’ be able to go 100%. What kills me is that the last two games he has gotten back up to where he was pre-injury, and is getting ripped for not doing enough by the media. During this losing stretch, he’s putting up similar numbers and shooting a similar percentage as when the team was winning, but all of a sudden, he’s to blame. I call shenanigans.

So I take a look at what’s been going on with the other two big guns for the Raptors: Turkoglu and Bargnani:

Turkoglu is playing so bad, it pains me to even mention his name. The guy is rebounding a bit better, but is worse at everything else: 10.5pts 4.8rebs 3.5ast since the All-Star break, and 7.5pts 5.8rebs 4.2ast in the last 4. You know how much money he made in those 4 games? $439,024.39. So reason #1 why Bosh snapped and the Raptors sucks is Turkoglu not performing at even his decreased levels as a Raptor. Even he realizes it and has been ducking out of the locker room before the media can rip into him. Way to run off and leave the rest of your team holding their balls while the media grills them Hedo, that’s real stand-up.

Bargnani is another major reason why the Raptors are in a funk. 15pts, 5.2rebs since the All-Star break is not far off from his season numbers, but no one else is picking up the slack. More troubling is that 7 of those games were without Bosh, which meant that he should have been the #1 option on offense leading to increased production; quite the opposite was the case though. To his credit, he did have a few good games, but each one of those came in a losing effort (Memphis, Cleveland, LA and Sacramento).

I’m not worried about his offense, though, never was (at least not this season); for me, this team lives and dies with his play on the defensive end. His rebounding has been absolutely brutal. On Saturday, against guys who were serving him fries a couple months ago (Anthony Tolliver and Chris Hunter), he gave up 11 offensive rebounds. Now, Bosh did have a hand in that, but Bosh grabbed 10 defensive rebounds; Bargnani grabbed 3. Gets worse for him against Portland where Aldridge grabbed 8 offensive rebounds to his single defensive board. Even Colangelo called it “disappointing.”

Both Golden State and Portland had significantly more shot attempts than the Raptors, 19 and 12 respectively. In Golden States’ case, that’s almost a whole quarter’s (for a normal team) worth of shots, totally negating the Raptors solid shooting from the floor. The more shots a team gets, the more chance they have to score – simple math.

Things have regressed to before that team-meeting that sent the Raptors on their winning ways, and this time it’s on Triano to make it right. Even though Bosh doesn’t think yelling is the way to go, demanding respect is; and Triano seemingly doesn’t have the players respect from where I sit. He’s clearly telling these guys to box out, keep their man in front of them, rotate and such, but they aren’t. So what does he do? Nothing, he slaps lipstick on a pig by taking Jack out of the starting lineup and replacing him with Calderon.

Over the last 13 games, Jack’s production has been spectacular; he is averaging 14.6pts 2.8rebs 5.2ast. Granted, the last two games he’s been off (which has coincided with Calderon’s mini two-game resurgence), but he is a better fit in a starting five led by his Georgia Tech teammate. If Triano had any balls he would move Turkoglu to the bench and start Wright for his defense. If he really wanted to impress me, he would start Johnson and bring Bargnani off the bench as well.

These types of moves address the teams inability to play perimeter defense and protect the defensive boards, but it would take a real coach to make that stand and not leave Bosh standing alone when taking the heat.

I want to start things off by extending my condolences to Scott and his family for their loss. I actually met Scott via blogging, and over the last few years, he has become one of my closest friends and confidants.  I speak on behalf of everyone at RR, the writers and the community at large, in sending our love and support during this difficult time. God bless brother.

…so the Raptors, different game, different night, different team, same problems. These guys are going through the motions, and are playing the least inspired brand of basketball I have seen in a very long time. I’m actually forced to stop and take stock of my own life, and really question the level of commitment I am giving in covering a team that is seemingly better than the performances they are giving. You know how hard it is to say the exact same things over and over about why the Raptors loss, changing the team name and switching out which Raptor player stepped up to be the #2 after Bosh?

I don’t have the stomach to cover this quarter by quarter and really break it down because frankly I don’t care. The formula for this team used to be that if they shot the ball well, they won more games then they lost. Now, it seems that in-spite of shooting well, they lose them. The problem lies in stopping the ball, we can’t do it to save our life. This team has kept their opponent under 100 points – 14 times all year. In contrast, they gave up more than a 110 points – 23 times, and more than 120 points – five times.

First things first, Bargnani can’t cover power forwards who have size and range. He does a good job on the Dwights and Shaqs, because those guys are not threats outside of 7 feet, and he can thump with them on the block; but a guy like LaMarcus Aldridge, who can post-up and shoot from the perimeter will abuse him, and he did.

I need to know what the hell happened to Bargnani. Where the hell did your rebounding go? Two bloody rebounds in 32 minutes, seriously? At least grab a few defensive ones since you were covering Aldridge for most of the night in the block…oh yea, Aldridge grabbed 8 offensive boards, there was nothing for you to do. Might have helped if you boxed out, jumped, put your hands up, broke a sweat…but at least you can shoot the ball very well for a center. Too bad you were 5-11 from the field (0-3 from behind the arc) and only had 11 points. At least if you were scoring…jesus…

Hedo sucks. I said I wouldn’t talk about him anymore, but he does. Sure he put up 14 points, but they were inconsequential. Yea he shot the ball well, and grabbed a few boards, but 2 assists? It’s not like he was making good passes and the Raptors were missing shots, they shot 54.9% from the field, he just wasn’t making plays. No ball son, you suck.

You know who else sucks? Triano sucks. He is the worst coach in the entire NBA. I don’t give a rats ass what anyone says, the guy has no business being a head coach in this league. Early in the second quarter, with the Blazers starting to gain some momentum and on a mini 5pt run, he should have called a timeout to stem the tide, but no, he didn’t. In the subsequent plays, Rudy Fernandez threw two ridiculous alley-oops to Aldridge, and the Raptors answer by taking and missing two shots that were so bad…they were horrible shots ok? Horrible. I threw up in my mouth a bit.

So he finally calls the timeout after the second ridiculous alley-oop and the entire crowd is out of their seats going nuts. What happens on the play-out of the timeout? Raptors hold the ball till there was 1 second left on the clock, and miss a deep three. Brilliant. That was the point the Raptors lost this game. Early in the 2nd quarter, sure they came back and gave it a go, but it was written.

On the other hand, in the 3rd quarter with the Blazers up 10, DeRozan gets out in the open court and puts down a ridiculous dunk, cutting the lead to 10. McMillan QUICKLY calls a timeout to kill momentum, Andre Miller hits a jumper out of the timeout, and any threat of a run was thwarted. That my friend is bloody coaching. Next time I see you at the Starbucks at Brookfield place, I’m cursing your ass out. I might even throw a lemon poppy seed loaf at you. God I hate you.

The Blazers grabbed 43.1% of available offensive rebounds (almost every other rebound) that led to 20 second chance points. Factor in that they got to the line 27.7% of the time and hit 21 of 23, that’s 41 points from sheer effort and determination. They shot a great percentage from the field from all those open looks, it’s no wonder they won. The game wasn’t handed to them, but they won easily.

The only people who have been playing well over the last few games are Bosh, Calderon and Johnson. These were the only three people who seem to be constantly fighting without letting up. Short comings aside, when only three folks are giving it their all, good things can’t happen.

Say what you will about Bosh, but he is not to blame for our perimeter woes. He isn’t the guy who gave Batum and Roy and Fernandez open/uncontested/easy looks from beyond the arc. He isn’t the guy not scoring efficiently, not getting to the line, not grabbing rebounds, not assisting. Yea, he is turnover prone, but he does everything else. The guy has zero support. I wouldn’t blame him for up and leaving; I’m seriously considering doing the same thing myself.

These are my game notes if you are interested, I’m done with this post. Hate this team…

1st quarter
- Hedo nails a 3 off the tip
- Bosh rotates to help bargnani on aldridge on a dunk attempt, no dunk
- Bargnani leaves aldridge wide open from 17
- Bargnani aggressive in the paint early
- Bargnani steps in and hits a hit jumper
- Aldridge giving bargnani big time problems
- Bargnani with the dunk in transition
- Bargnani literally lost track of aldridge and didn’t even attempt to box him out
- Bosh with the great find, drops a dime to DeRozan in the paint
- Bargnani threads the needle to Bosh for a dunk, beautiful play
- Amir with a jumper at the top of the key
- Camby penetrates, draws a double, then dishes to Aldridge for a dunk, terrible
- Calderon looking for his shot when he got into the game, 1-2 quickly
- Calderon ball fakes on the run, creates some space, and hits the reverse layup

2nd quarter
- start the quarter on a 9-0 run (2 big alleyoops to get the crowd into it fernandez to aldridge)
- triano calls a timeout two possessions too late (should have been called after 5 straight points, he lets it go for 4 more – 2 alleyoop dunks)
- out of the timeout, the raptors ran a terrible play and jacked a deep 3 with 1 second on the shot clock
- Jack hits a three from the corner, nice
- Batum left open for some reason, obviously he hits a three
- Amir with a put back layup off of caldrons missed shot
- roy with a three, 8-11 from behind the arc
- Batum with another three, he was open again
- Calderon to the rack off the dribble and in traffic
- Caldron still competing, gotta appreciate it

3rd quarter
- DeRozan turnover leads to a Miller layup on the break
- Calderon throws the ball away, on a bad alley-oop attempt to Bosh
- MIller feeling it
- DeRozan finishes on the break
- Bargnani didn’t box Camby out, result: put back off the missed jumper
- how many open threes can a team give up?
- DeRozan puts it down on a break, cuts the deficit to 10, and the Blazers call a quick timeout. Take note Triano, that’s coaching
- Miller hits a layup out of the timeout
- Calderon throws the ball away
- Hedo with a dagger from behind the err, 7 point deficit
- Amir with a putback layup

4th quarter
- Bargnani gets open, and cuts the deficit to 5, sticking the jumper
- Jack should be on the bench.
- Batum with another open 3…I feel like it’s groundhogs day
- DeRozan with a terrible shot out of a timeout
- DeRozan goes baseline and finds Andrea in the corner for a jumper; Raptors down 7 with 9min to go
- Batum with a tough/contested jumper, that one hurt
- Jack splits the defense and feeds a cutting DeRozan for a layup; Raptors are 5 points back now
- Millers layup contested by Bosh, missed it
- Bargnani with a big rebound off the Aldridge miss
- Weems with a mid-range jumper cuts lead to 2
- Camby strips Bosh again
- Roy gets in the paint, and hits a layup in traffic
- Jack forces a three, obviously misses, where’s Calderon?
- Bosh with a jumper from the elbow, Raptors down 4
- Roy lucks out as the ball falls in his hand in the paint for an easy putback
- Camby blocks Calderon under the rim, and Batum draws a foul on the break, hits both from the line
- Bosh gets in the paint and draws a foul, hits both from the line
- Miller draws the triple team in the paint, and finds Camby for a dunk; nail meet coffin
- Bosh misses a three, and i turn off the tv

Hang your heads in shame boys, what you guys did (or didn’t do as the case may be) last night was nothing more than going through the motions. Enough of you have checked out, for some reason, and the ones who are still fighting are doing it alone. This team is in worse shape than the one that started the year 7-13; at least that squad was trying to make sense of 9 new players (who still don’t speak the same language) and a new coach who doesn’t appear to have done anything at all except…no, he’s got nothing.

If I were planning for this game, I would have made it a point to address a few key things:

1. Dictate the pace of the game: the Warriors like to get up and down the court and jack up shots. Don Nelson has given them the green-light to take whatever shot they want…and most of these guys can hit them. So yeah, you need to worry about quick transition shots. Also, when you have the ball, there is no need to push the ball and force anything when there is no defense being played against you. Be aggressive, but don’t force the issue. It’s key you play the game you know how to, not the game you want to.
2. Protect the glass: with so many shots going up, you have to get the rebound. You have 4 guys who will get heavy minutes that are 6″9 or taller, and the Warriors have 1. You have to use the weapons you have. Since the Raptors are a bigger/stronger team, boxing out and keeping a body between your check and basket is a key thing. Nothing hurts more than a team taking a wild shot, missing badly, only to grab the offensive board and lay it back in quickly.
3. Perimeter defense: you have a team that is strictly built for run-and-gun without any big bodies who play in the paint. To me, I start thinking about ways to protect the perimeter, not give them anything easy. Zone defense maybe. Not switching on screens. Not doubling anyone who might not warrant a double. All these actions open up space for a shooter to shoot. Maybe you want to get your best perimeter players out there.

The game started with both teams hot from the field. The Raptors would pound the ball into the paint and score; the Warriors would run it back and quickly answer within 16 seconds. Jack and Turkoglu were orchestrating the offense perfectly: feeding the post, finding slashers, penetrating and dishing…ball movement at it’s finest.

DeRozan was attacking off the bounce. Taking his man off the dribble, or slashing through the paint off the ball, giving a target and converting. The fact that the Warriors play no defense helped, but he was committed to driving to the rim. When that commitment is there, good things will happen.

The Warriors had no idea what to do with Amir. The guy was furious in his 4minutes of play. Rolling to the rim, hitting everything, grabbing every rebound he could. He even had the block of the year on Maggette who was trying to dunk the ball in the open court. Vicious.

It was so frantic though. They bait you into playing that up and down game that every NBA player wants to, but that only a few can do effectively, and in the first quarter, it was working in the Raptors favour because they were being aggressive, but they moved the ball around until they got the shot that they wanted (and was appropriate). The Raptors assisted on 10 of their 15 1st quarter baskets, and all those baskets (except for Calderon’s three at the end of the quarter) were within 15 feet. Great, clean looks that allowed them to close out the 1st quarter on a 15-2 run.

The second quarter saw the Raps move away from the things they were doing well, and all-together stop doing everything else. They started the 2nd with Bosh and Johnson pounding the paint; then Weems gave them a 12 point lead with a layup in the paint when the Raptor off-switch was flipped, and they went scoreless for 5 minutes. It wasn’t even a matter of them being defended, they just stopped doing the things that constitutes team basketball. They weren’t sharing the ball, took shots early in the clock, and most of those shots were deep jumpers. Yes they hit a few, but it all came at the expense of the interior game which was what got them the 10 point lead.

In that 5 minutes, the Raptors only mustered 5 shots. Five bloody shots in a frantically paced game. Pathetic. Three of them were outside of 23 feet, and two were missed layups by Turkoglu (who somehow got past his check at walking speed). In that 5 minutes, the Raptors did commit 3 fouls and 3 turnovers though, so the stat sheet got filled up. What happened in that 5 minutes? The Warriors showed a really weak zone defense that totally blind sided the Raptors. They weren’t even pressing that hard, just were in a zone formation, running around and such.

The Warriors did crash the hell out of the boards. They missed 17 shots, but grabbed 9 offensive rebounds. The Raptors were absolutely invisible on the glass: Amir and Bargnani only mustered 1 rebound between the two of them in 20 minutes of play. Pathetic. The Warriors weren’t quite ready to take the game over, but it seemed as though the Raptors were willing to give it up.

…and boy did they do just that in the 3rd quarter. The Raptors came out absolutely flat. They did nothing. Had 2 points (a DeRozan layup) in the first three and a half minutes. Committed a few fouls, turned the ball over gladly. Scored a couple buckets, then went cold for another two and a half minutes. Then with about 4:30 left, they gave it a bit of a go, but couldn’t sustain any real momentum. The Warriors had their feet on their necks, and applied just enough pressure at the right times to stop any semblance of anything. To cap it off, some guy named Hunter had a put-back dunk with four-tenths of a second left in the quarter. The game was done at that point. The 4th quarter was a 12-minute death rattle.

So back to the game plan I outlined earlier:

Dictate the pace of the game

The Warriors took 95 shots, 27 of which were three-pointers. They had 25 fast break points. They grabbed 36% of all offensive rebounds. 55.7% eFG. Sure the Raptors had an eFG of 61.8%, but they turned the ball over 17 times, allowed 18 offensive rebounds. The Warriors ran, shot, missed, grabbed the rebound, and put it back before the Raptors knew what hit them.

Protect the glass
The Warriors had a 36% offensive rebounding rate. That means that they grabbed 36% of all available offensive rebounds. Given that they missed 50 shots during the game, that’s a lot. Guys called Chris Hunter and Anthony Tolliver had 6 and 5 offensive rebounds respectively.  I mean seriously? Both these guys were cold-calling people at night trying to sell Foreman grills while playing in the D-League two months ago. Tolliver is a 6″9 center for crying out loud. Blame Bargnani and Johnson for grabbing less rebounds combined than Tolliver did.

Perimeter Defense
Monta Ellis: 45min 31pts 4rebs 2ast 2st
Stephen Curry: 42min 35pts 6rebs 10ast 4stl 1blk

These were the only two guys we had to plan for, and they did what they wanted. Marcus Banks, our best defender at the point, and possibly the best defender on the team got exactly zero minutes. Ellis/Curry did what they wanted, when they wanted and as much as they wanted. Not sure what Triano planned to do this game, but clearly these two weren’t being accounted, and if they were, the plan had to have been to let them do what they wanted, because they did.

The highlight of the night for me was Jack Armstrong who had a few gems:

Tonight the Raptors get the Blazers on the second night of the back-to-back. The pace will be slower, but the result will be the same. Arsenalist will check in with the pre-game in the afternoon.

What infuriates me about this Raptors team is that if they somehow pull out a win tonight against the Lakers, I wouldn’t be surprised, but a loss to the 76ers blows my mind. It’s not so much that they lost, well it is, but mostly how they lost. You get your franchise player back after he goes down for two weeks with an ankle injury, and you come out flat. Everyone was flat, even Jay wasn’t arguing calls with the zeal he normally does.

The Sixers are an athletic team, and the Raptors aren’t. Frankly, I would have picked them to be doing better than they are, at least be fighting for a playoff spot. As things happen, they are out of the playoff picture, and the Raptors are two games out of the lottery.

Over the last 6 games, the Raptors are a dismal 1-5. They haven’t been playing with any sense of urgency, energy, determination, heart, grit, honour, pride….they’ve been playing like the Nets, but with better players. I’m not sure what’s worse.

The Lakers are on a three game losing streak of their own; but there’s no remedy better than going home after a tough loss to the Magic on the road. A game where Kobe took 30 shots to score 34, Gasol put up 20/15 and Odom & Artest combined for 16pts 12rebs 5ast. Needless to say, the highlight of the game was Artest’s hair.

I bet the Lakers had this game circled on their calender after Turkoglu won the game at the line, with 1.2 seconds left in the game back in Toronto. Kobe had plenty of time to take the winning shot, but Antoine Wright played him perfectly defensively, only allowing an aggressively-contested shot that rimmed out.

What’s exciting is the game the Raptors played put themselves into a position where they could win the game at the line in the dying moments. Defense was solid, even though the Lakers dropped 105 points. Their tight man defense and crisp rotations in the 4th quarter forced bad shots/turnovers, then they capitalized on the other end with big shot making. Jack kept Farmar in check, Bosh and Bargnani would collapse on Gasol, even Calderon forced a couple turnovers.

The other key for the Raptors was getting to the line, and hitting their free throws. The Raptors need to replicate both of these efforts to even have a shot at a win here. Sadly, I’m hardpressed to think of this as anything but a spectacular loss to a team out for blood. Almost like Tom Liston furiously refreshing his browser until Amir Johnson’s adjusted +/- for the last three years is updated online.

Remember this?

Lightning wont be striking twice.

UPDATE

Better late than never, but I had checked in with Andy Kamenetzky from Land O’ Lakers, the ESPN Los Angeles Laker blog he runs with his brother Brian (you can also catch them on Twitter) and asked him a few questions about the Lakers heading into tonights game:

Q. I thought that replacing Ariza with Artest was an upgrade for the Lakers. Was it really? How has Artest worked out? Living up to expectations? Comment about his latest hairdo?
A. All in all, I do consider Artest an upgrade. Offensively, he’s been inconsistent, but so has the team in general for reasons varying from injuries creating a lack of continuity to a pure lack of focus. The issues aren’t Ron’s alone and he’s hardly the cause. These problems would exist if Ariza were still around, so you have to ask how much would Trevor be able to help. Judging by how he’s performed in an increased offensive role in Houston, my guess is not much.

In the meantime, the Lakers defense has become, rather under the radar, among the league’s best, which I think has a lot to do with Artest. He plays EXTREMELY hard and the team often feeds off his energy. Not to mention his pure skills. While Ariza was capable of disrupting teams with his length and is certainly a solid defender, Artest often wrecks guys one-on-one. He hounds the likes of ‘Melo, Pierce, Joe Johnson, and Granger relentlessly, leans on them, pokes away balls and often prevents them from even taking shots, much less forcing a miss. The Lakers undoubtedly miss Ariza’s speed at times and the flexibility of putting him on someone like Tony Parker, but TA also can’t cover guys without help for as long of durations. I’d rather have Artest, because that ability to go solo allows everyone else to better concentrate on their man.

Ron Ron’s “Demolition Man” ‘do was both interesting and short-lived. He’s now chrome dome, although the dye remains seeped into the skin. Always something there to remind me.

Q. I recently read that Lamar Odom eats excessive amounts of chocolate, and passes out in bed. Does it concern you that a major cog for a team with championship aspirations has this problem? How is his conditioning otherwise?
A. Considering Lamar ate plenty of candy last season when they won a title, no. He’s also been eating more oranges this season (another reason Artest has been a positive addition), if that eases anybody’s concerns. But unless he quite literally overdosed from a chocolate excess (as opposed to simply falling drifting off and the treats happened to be part of the equation) I consider this a non-story.

Q. Does Cleveland adding Antawn Jamison worry you guys come the finals?
A. In theory, yes, although Cleveland now has injury issues of their own and it remains to be seen how they’ll perform once Z returns and the entire roster is available. But to the original question, yes, he does concern me. I think Jamison was a better fit for Cleveland and easier to work into their system than Amar’e Stoudemire, their other debated acquisition. Particularly on the fly, which became even more of the case than originally expected. But assuming everyone is presented and accounted for, Jamison makes the Cavs better. He’s a tough cover and, by all accounts, a very good teammate. You can never have enough of the latter during the pressure cooker that is a playoff run.

Q. What is Phil Jackson’s status going forward?
A. Nobody knows for sure, but it’s certainly been a point of local gossip and rumors. Speculation Dr. Buss will ask PJ to take a pay cut next season, particularly if the Lakers don’t win it all. Speculation the team is tempted to bring in Byron Scott and start writing the franchise’s next chapter. Speculation old family wounds and divides have resurfaced to complicate the issue. Speculation PJ’s unresolved status could somehow jeopardize Kobe staying on board. And as the team plays below expectations, even while winning, even more speculation results.

Having said that, let’s be honest, isn’t that what we do in Laker Land even when everything is peachy? The Lakers and drama go hand in hand even during the brightest of times.

Personally, I think Jackson will return next season, assuming he remains in good health. But I guess you never know until ink and paper meet.

Q. Thoughts on the cause for your 3 game losing streak?
A. It’s still odd at times for me to type this, but the Lakers have been increasingly struggling on offense, which was certainly case during the three-loss roadie. Beyond not scoring with ease, they’re not doing much of anything efficiently. The ball doesn’t move and when it does, it’s often in the process of creating a turnover. They’re missing free throws. Players (Pau Gasol in particular) are having trouble hanging onto the rock. Too much iso play around the arc. Too much iso period. Ironically, the defense has often been very good, but when you’re both unable to score and constantly giving the ball away, there’s only so long the D will hold. According to research provided by Elias, the Lakers surrender 15.2 ppg off turnovers this season. During March, it’s hit nearly 19. For obvious reasons, that can’t continue.

I actually wrote about the streak ending on the Land O’ Lakers blog. To me, it felt emblematic of issues rising throughout the season and finally catching up to them over three consecutive games. This is still obviously a very good team, but there pressing issues in need of fine-tuning and they’re running out of time to hit stride before the playoffs.

The Raptors are 1-0 during this must win stretch, which goes till the last game of the season against the Knicks. When I said that every game is a must win from here on in, I meant that each game must be approached as if they are. With Toronto and Milwaukee currently tied for 5th, and the Raptors ahead of of Charlotte (9th place) by 2.5 games, there is no “you just have to let this game go and concentrate on the next.”

They did just that against the Knicks on Friday, sans Bosh, who was out with a stomach flu or something (he did practice yesterday and is expected to play today, which is crucial.). Triano went with Amir in the starting lineup, and Sonny Weems had a career game. Bosh did practice yesterday and is expected to play today, which is crucial.

Sonny is our new Jamario Moon, except that he’s good. He is averaging 13.3pts over the last four games. It’s great to see a young/hungry player get an opportunity to contribute, and actually sieze the moment. The best part is that his $850k option for next season will be picked up.

The Raptors are 2-0 against the Sixers this season, and even if Turkoglu doesn’t play (since he is a game-time decision) they should take this with Bosh in the lineup, injured and all. The Sixers are just not very good, and when Eddie Jordan is saying things like “Iguadala is not the kind of player who can carry a team,” how good can things be?

A positive note for the Sixers is that Iverson is done for the season, who has done nothing but shatter my love for him. His absence means more burn for Jrue Holiday, which is also positive news for the Raptors, who can take it to the rookie. Calderon had a solid game Friday against the Knicks, with 16pts 3rebs 6ast; there is no reason to expect otherwise today.

Amir will be playing another big role today, regardless of Bosh’s status. The kid played 31minutes of inspired/controlled ball on Friday, in a starting role. Johnson matches up well with Dalembert, Speights and Young who may be a bit too quick for Evans.

After today, the schedule get’s very difficult for the Raptors. 8 of their next 12 are on the road: the next 4 is a Western swing; 6 are against teams with 35 or more wins…can you say another must win?

From here on out, every game is a must win. Triano talked about not panicking recently, and I agree to a certain point. When your franchise player is out of the lineup, and you lose 4-in-a-row because the rest of the team isn’t that good, you just hope Bosh gets better quick and gets back fast enough to assure us of a playoff spot.  Now that he’s back, and we’re in the stretch run, these girls need to pull up their skirts and get down to business.

With the resurgent Milwaukee Bucks a half game behind us for 5th, things are tighter in the East than you might expect. The difference between the 5th spot (where the Raptors currently are) and the 9th spot (where the Bobcats are trying not to fall apart from) is only three games. Considering we just dropped 4 in a row, whatever cushion we had just evaporated and the certainty of a playoff spot we had a week ago has been reduced to a dog fight.

Over the last four games, the Raptors have just been terrible, they:

• have lost by an average margin of 16.2 points
• have given up an average of 115.5 ppg
• allowed their opponents to shoot 47.1% from the field
• turned the ball over 61 times, which has lead to 80 points

Oh…and no one has stepped up to fill in for Bosh. I mean, Jack has done a pretty good job of steadying the ship, but Turkoglu is playing just a bit better than usual, and Bargnani doesn’t seem to have what it takes to be #1; and you can’t really expect much from the rest.

What we have got a glimpse of the last 6 games is what life will be like if Bosh walks this summer (not a sign and trade). If the franchise ups-and-leaves, we will have almost enough cap space to replace him with anyone other than the likes of a Drew Gooden or someone along those lines. I get nauseous just thinking about it.

The Knicks are just all kinds of awful. They are  3-10 since February (including a 9 game losing streak) with 2 of their 3 wins coming against the Wizards. It’s a sadder sight than Arsenalist at a Justin Bieber concert hopping, clapping and swooning. However, they are coming off a hard fought win against the Pistons where D’Antoni used a tight 7-man rotation.

If the same lineup is used tonight against the Raptors, things will get interesting.

Starters
G, Tracy McGrady [6-8, 223]
OG, Bill Walker [6-6, 230]
SF, Danilo Gallinari [6-10, 225]
PF, Al Harrington [6-9, 250]
C, David Lee [6-9, 250]

Bench
PG, Sergio Rodriguez [6-3, 176]
OG/PG, Eddie House [6-1, 180]

I don’t know a whole lot about Bill Walker, but the rest of this lineup is very athletic and matches up very well with an injury plagued Raptors (Calderon and Turkoglu are listed as day-to-day). The only thing that worries me is McGrady at the point, who has been playing pretty good in the 7 games he’s been a Knick (four of which he has scored more than 15 points). Jack will have his hands full, as McGrady can shoot over him at will and post him up.

I like Banks/Weems off the bench against Rodriguez and House, but I suspect Wilson Chandler will get plenty of burn since he likes to light the Raptors up. Poor Eddie, guy got shafted large with this exile.

While I hope Turkoglu and Calderon are fine and will be ready for the playoffs, I like that Wright and Banks will be getting plenty of burn in their stead. Banks has don’e nothing but ball when given the opportunity, but Wright especially, given how it is expected for his minutes to increase heading into the playoffs.

I’m mostly hoping Al Harrington treats us to cocky moments like this in a Raptor win:

After getting the shaft during the Olympic semi-finals, Raptor Fan Fridays is back tonight at the Sport Centre Cafe.

On the second night of a back-to-back, the Raptors head to Houston to play a retooled Rockets team; without Bosh for the 5th game in a row.

I checked in with Rahat Huq of Red94 (you can catch him on Twitter) to get a sense of where the Rockets were after the McGrady trade:

Q: Darryl Morey: best GM in the league?
A: Obviously I’m biased, so my opinion there doesn’t hold much weight, but I think most people around the league have certainly taken notice. What Morey needs now in his resume is real success. The team obviously exceeded expectations last season and prior to the trade, this year, but for him to really cement his standing, he needs a real title run to show that his approach isn’t just conducive to overachievement – it can bring championships.

Q: How do you see Martin and Jeffries fitting into this team?
A: Jeffries just looks like a Houston Rocket – the activity and energy on the defensive end, always rotating, making deflections, drawing charges. Unfortunately, he also fits the bill for Rockets teams of past years on the offensive side in that he has no abilities. Martin is one of the most efficient scorers in our league and he kind of symbolizes the first major step towards what perhaps might be a vision to build an “offensive machine” – a drastic shift away from the defensive philosophy of years past. But he attacks the basket and draws fouls and it looks like, with the Lowry trade last year, that might be one of the main skills that the Rockets are building upon.

Q: Do you seirously think you guys have any chance of landing Bosh? What’s Plan B when you don’t land him?
A: I think there could be a chance given his ties to the state of Texas and the solid lineup we have built to (theoretically) fit around him. He fits this offense perfectly with his ability to operate from the high post. I think there might be some appeal to a guy like Bosh to coming to a situation where he would not only be the undisputed first option, but also have sufficient help around him. That’s pretty unique and I’m not sure many other teams can offer that appeal. Plan B would likely be Stoudemire or simply holding on until the deadline to see who might become available via trade. But I do think they will be very aggressive in free agency in gathering from what Daryl Morey has said.

Q: I’m sure you guys must be a stinging from getting thumped by the Raptors the last time out; what do you have to do to win this game?
A: I would really be shocked if we won this game. Not enough emphasis has been placed on the loss of Kyle Lowry, a guy who statistically speaking has been the team’s most impactful player this season.

The last time we played Houston, the Raptors played as good a game as they ever have, taking it to the Rockets for a full 48. With no real threat on the perimeter, and no double-team worthy player in the post, the Raptors perimeter defense was able to keep Battier and Ariza in check (and Brooks who went 6-20 but put up 20pts).

Scola and Landry were just monsters in the post, and absolutely owned Bosh and Bargnani combining for 46pts 22rebs, but Bosh and Bargnani countered with 41pts and 13rebs, and Turkoglu came up big from the wing with 23pts 6rebs 5ast. Replacing Landry off the bench with Jeffries is a step back, but the Rockets improved with the moves overall both strategically and tactically.

While the addition of Kevin Martin gives the Rockets someone who can create from the wing and score in bunches, he gives it back on defense. It will be up to DeRozan (but mostly Weems and Belinelli) to attack the hell out of him on offense, and keep Martin on his toes.

If Bosh were playing, I’d be all-in for a Raptor win, but in his absence, we don’t have a clear edge in the paint. Bargnani hasn’t really been utilized effectively, and Evans/Johnson/Rasho haven’t been able to fill in by committee. At the minimum, the pick-and-roll with Evans should just be put aside and never used again under any circumstances. While he does get the ball in motion, he is unable to do anything with it.

BARGNANI. BALL. PLEASE!!

I mean seriously, last night Bargs went 6-9 from the field; with Bosh out, why isn’t he getting more shots? I realize some of it has to do with Bargnani making himself available and aggressive; but no plays are being called for him. Nothing. Just to recap shot distribution last night:

Rasho Nesterovic – 4-10
Hedo Turkoglu – 3-8
Andrea Bargnani – 6-9
Jarrett Jack – 4-8
DeMar DeRozan – 4-10
Reggie Evans – 2-4
Antoine Wright – 2-8
Jose Calderon – 2-5
Amir Johnson – 3-7
Patrick O’Bryant – 1-3
Marco Belinelli – 2-4
Sonny Weems – 5-11

That’s a lot of bad shots that could have been given to bargnani. Even if a quarter of those missed shots (those 5 combined for 18-46 = 28 missed shots) were called for Bargnani, that’s 9 more attempts by somebody who was shooting the ball well. When you figure the Raptors lost by 20, that gap starts to close rapidly, even with the sloppy play. Think about it Jay, it could help tonight.

The first of two meetings with one of the teams I have been looking forward to watching all year. The Thunder are an exciting young lot, that can’t be called ‘up-and-coming’ anymore. They are here, 6th in the West, and have been running folks ragged with all that  young talent. The most talented of the lot… Sam Presti. It blows me away that the GM of a professional team is the same age as me (33). Could you imagine if Babcock got as much talent back for Vince Carter as Presti got for Ray Allen? How far ahead would the Raptors be right now?

The Raptors are fresh off a tough loss to the Cavs that came down to a game winning shot for Turkoglu, and again, he jacked a shot instead of trying to drive to the rack…obviously he missed, but that’s neither here nor there. I’m hoping the “clutch” switch turns on automatically when the playoffs start since I can’t recall him hitting a game winner yet this season.

I’m done with Turkoglu; I’m done trying to figure out why he keeps shooting the ball with the game on the line instead of driving to the basket. I don’t get it. I really don’t. Someone please try explain this to me without bringing up the 3 or 4 game-winners he hit last season. This is a whole new season, and he’s had two good games. Bargnani should have got the ball at the end there, the guy has ice in his veins too, why not see what he can do for us?

Oklahoma is 8-2 over their last 10, with their most recent win a 17 point whooping of Minnesota that saw Russell Westbrook put up a masterful 18pts 15ast in only 33 minutes of action. The Thunder are 17-11 at home, and 17-6 against the East so far this season including two big wins over the Hawks. This is not going to be an easy day, not by a long shot.

Bosh didn’t accompany the team to Oklahoma, and I feel like a broken record asking this; but why? Why wouldn’t you travel with your teammates, provide leadership and support when the team is without your services? I’m not saying he doesn’t support his team, just that there is only so much you can do sitting in your Lakeshore condo watching your boys play on TV. I’m mostly lashing out because the Raptors are only a game ahead of Chicago for 5th, and things are just going to get tougher over the next 12 (8 of which are on the road, and 6 of those in the West).

Stopping the ball is the name of the game tonight. The Thunder live in the paint by either planting themselves in the post or, for the most part, penetrating the crap out of the ball. Durant and Westbrook are relentless in attacking the rim, and need to be stopped on the perimeter. Let them shoot the ball all they want, but please don’t let them in the paint, especially with Bargnani the only one available to challenge shots.

If Amir can keep himself under control, he will have value tonight as he is can run up and down the floor with the likes of Green and Collison, as well as blocking some shots. Evans, while furious for a few minutes, doesn’t play defensive on the block well enough for my likings, and will run into trouble keeping up with the youngsters.

Jarrett Jack has been playing out of this world since Bosh has gone down. While he has struggled at times, the man has really stepped up and taken this team by the reigns averaging 20.8pts 3.5rebs 7.3ast. In all fairness, Turkoglu has answered the call, but his 18pts 5rebs 4ast are what we were expecting from him every game, and not just his production when he’s stepping up to help compensate for missing Chris.

Triano will have to field a team that will protect the paint (the Thunder are tied for 4th in offensive rebounding rate) as well as keeping Jack and Calderon from being on the court at the same time. I just don’t like their chances against Westbrook and Sefolosha (who they stole from the Bulls…raped em…dammit). Also, if the game comes down to one shot at the end, give it to Bargnani; he won’t disappoint. I believe.

The Thunder are 8.5 point favourites at home, FYI.

Apparently, Bosh’s injury is worse than what Bosh himself suspected, and the team is just being careful with him. There wasn’t a lot of swelling, but he needs more movement. Heading into the stretch run, it is paramount that he is healthy and 100%. If that means sitting out a game against the best team in the league, then I can live with it. The fact of the matter is that even with Bosh, this game would be very challenging, no need to risk further injury.

On Wednesday, Portland forced the Raptors into their style of play: slow pace, keep folks out of the paint, and contest shots. Watching a team execute a plan like that to perfection was very frustrating. To make matters worse, the Raptors played far to loose with the ball, allowing 17 points off of 16 turnovers, not to mention allowing 20 fast break points. What a brutal game to watch, seriously.

Tonight the Raptors host the Cavs, who may have made the biggest splash at the trade deadline by shipping out Ilgauskas (who just got bought out and will be rejoining the Cavs in a couple weeks) for the stretch power foward they have always coveted to play beside LeBron aka Antawn Jamison; all without giving up JJ Hickson. This is a scary team from top to bottom:

PG – Mo Williams; Daniel Gibson; Sebastian Telfair
SG – Anthony Parker, Delonte West
SF – LeBron James, Jamario Moon, Daniel Green
PF – Antawn Jamison, JJ Hickson, Jawad Williams, Darnell Jackson, Leon Powe
C – Shaquille O’Neal, Anderson Varejao, Zadrunaus Ilgauskas (after the 1 month waiting period)

That my friends is a deep team.

This is the third game of the season against the Cavs, and the first with Jamison in the lineup. The season opener saw Bosh and Bargnani have monster games as the Raptors stopped the Cavs dead in their tracks a night after Boston did the same. The second game was a different beast, as Turkoglu registered one of his many no shows. The Cavs didn’t blow the Raptors out of the water, which was positive; but the Raptors were never really a threat to pull out a win.

Tonight has potential to be a rough one, especially if Bosh is out of the lineup again. Rasho has had a pretty solid three game run, but I don’t want to see him start the game. Bargnani is due to break out of his little funk (not really a funk, but with Bosh being out we expected a bit more). The benefit of starting Bargs at center is having Amir start at power forward, which is a better matchup with Jamison.

This front court tandem gives us a mobile, athletic duo that will force Cleveland to think about making adjustments.

You then counter Hickson and Varajeo off the bench with Evans, Rasho and some creative line juggling of Bargnani and Johnson. Whatever happens, Bargnani needs to give us 36 minutes of Dirk-level production or it all falls apart.

Hedo gets LeBron, and this isn’t a Hedo knock, but good luck. I say let him shoot all he wants, but don’t let him penetrate and create for others. At a minimum, if Hedo can be the scoring threat he was against the Blazers, LeBron will have to pay him special attention on defense splitting his focus. Wright has been getting more minutes as of late, and will be called on to provide relief off the bench.

DeRozan’s star has been fading a bit of late. The rook is by all accounts a gym rat who works hard and is hungry to improve, but has been seeing less and less action through the course of the game over the last couple weeks. For some reason, those minutes are going to Belinelli and not Weems, which I have absolutely no answer for. Of the two, Weems has clearly been the better, more consistent performer over the season.

I just want Jack to clothes-line Mo Williams at some point tonight. Mo hasn’t actually done anything for me to not like him, I just don’t. I’m also looking forward to Jamario Moon clanking a couple jumpers that breaks Cleveland’s offensive flow.

With Bosh playing, this would be an interesting game, with the Raptors having enough depth up front to give the Cavs some problems. Without him, I don’t like our chances. As long as we play tough and not fold, the Raptors can give themselves a chance to pull one out. The passing will need to be crisp, the ball needs to be protected, rebounds need to be grabbed and jumpers need to fall. Not so tall an order, huh? ;)

The ACC will probably be dead seeing as the Canadian Mens Olympic hockey team is in the semi’s against Slovakia. Fortunately, we know a bar that is carrying the Raptors game tonight: come join us for Raptor Fan Friday at the Sports Centre Cafe tonight.

RFF UPDATE:

We sincerely appreciate everyone’s understanding given tonight’s circumstances.

Hopefully the decision to keep Bosh out of last nights game was a calculated one to buy him two more days of rest, instead of him being more seriously injured than we have been led to believe. Against the Nets and Wizards, we saw the Raptors come together, share the ball, create good shots for each and knock them down. Against the Blazers, we saw them do that in spurts in the 1st half, and not much in the 2nd.

Last night we got a glimpse into the future of this team if Bosh decides to walk in the summer, and we get no assets back for him in the summer. It’s easy to coach a team that has an elite level player on the floor, who can manufacture shots and seemingly get to the line; what you orchestrate without him is a different matter. While the win against the Nets and Wizards were solid, by no means are those two teams very good.

Heading into this game, the Raptors were 3-point favourites; not much of an edge, but they were the home team. Reading between the lines though, things became worrisome for me. The Blazers were on the second night of a back-to-back; they were missing Oden, Pryzbilla, Camby (and just traded Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw). Ok, so they are tired, and playing a bit short handed, but remember I talked about pace yesterday, and this Blazers team is used to having less possessions a game than everyone other team in the league. This slower tempo actually helps to balance out playing heavy minutes in back-to-back nights.

This slower tempo also made Juwan Howard a huge factor in relief of Camby, who continued his streak of being injured in Toronto. Howard played 31 big minutes of attention demanding play in the post; dropping 10pts 3rebs 2ast 1stl in the process. Rasho had absolutely no answer as he hit the wall on the third consecutive game playing extended minutes.

“It was important to run them off the 3-point line and take away their easy baskets,” Roy said. “We just wanted to make them score over top of a hand each possession and we did a good job of that.”

The Raptors got plenty of looks from beyond the arc, but none were clean, and almost every single one was contested. It was genius if you ask me; Portland was weak in the frontcourt so they tempted the Raptors with just enough space from behind the arc to think they could pop a few off. They did, but not nearly enough dropped.

“We didn’t do a good job of taking care of the ball early and it helped them establish the lead they had at halftime,” Jack said. “It’s tough to recover when you give the other team extra possession.”

You could almost forgive the Raptors for missing so many 3’s, but the sloppy plays that lead to turnovers that led to fast breaks were maddening. The Raptors committed 16 of the most lazy/sloppy/ridiculous turnovers I have ever witnessed that led to 17 Blazer points and most of their 20 fast break points. The joke is that the Blazers aren’t even a fast-breaking team. Another side-effect of the constant turnovers was the Raptors took 9 less shots (pace) than the Blazers. 14 point loss, 9 less shots…you do the math. It got so bad, that on one possession, Calderon literally threw the ball away on the wing when he thought Turkoglu was going to drop into the corner.

Speaking of Turkoglu, was I the only one who was disappointed in his play? I mean, he dropped a bloody efficient 24 points on 8-9 shooting from the field, but 3 assists? Without Bosh, Bargnani needs to be the focal point on offense, and it seemed like Hedo was just staying away from him. Bargnani wasn’t helping himself with anything, but it would have been nice to see Hedo work with the Italian and get him some good looks, or easy ones at least. At the very least, this was a positive display from him faced with some pretty tough defensive pressure.

As much as I like Reggie Evans, and as much as his toughness is necessary for this team, he is taking valuable minutes away from Amir Johnson. With the Raptors desperate for some offense in the third quarter, Reggie got about 4 minutes of serious burn and jacked up 3 terrible bricks. Given how well and under control Amir was playing last night, it might have made sense to go with the big who knew how to score (and was rebounding and blocking shots) as opposed to the big who wants to score, but can’t.

“I didn’t hear [the cheers] but I knew that Canada was playing Russia and I saw that it was at our game time so I was happy about that,” McMillan said, smiling. “I looked at the stands when we first came in and said they may have a lot of no-shows. I thought they scheduled it for the right time.”

There were actually about 11,000 people at the ACC, and 200 people watching on TV. Tomorrow night against the Cavs will be a ghost town; we will probably hear Triano furiously etching a play on his clipboard.

The Raptors are 2-1 with Bosh on the shelf, with the only loss coming to a better team. You have to like it, and I do. With Turkoglu picking it up, and Bosh probably back on Friday, things are looking fairly positive during this stretch drive.

How bad is this ankle injury Bosh suffered last week against the Grizzlies? Frankly, I thought he was good to play, but the powers-that-be took advantage of a light schedule (although the Wizards ended up being anything but light) to rest the franchise before a stretch that sees us play 4 very good teams in a row.

Heading into tonights game, I’ve realized that I have slept on some of the Raptors recent achievements:

• 8-2 in their last 10 games; hottest team in the East.
• They have reduced their point differential to 0, mostly by improving their offense (109.3 over the stretch), but over their last 10, they have have actually tightened their defense up a bit surrendering 103.7 a game (a full point less than their current season average).
• 4 games out of 4th, and 5 games out of 3rd place in the East.
• On pace for 46 wins.
• 24-11 since December when everything turned around on a dime somehow.

Looking back now, the 7-13 start wasn’t horrible, but was the difference between a team fighting for 3rd or 4th in the East and a team that is barely holding on to 5th place in the standings. It is also the difference between beating the Lakers and Cavs on some nights, then dropping 2 games to the Pacers on others.

Tonight they host the Blazers at the ACC at 7pm, so I checked in with Ezra from The Portland Roundball Society, and asked the newest member of the TrueHoop Network a couple questions about this team:

Q. Talk about the Camby trade; will he be around next year when Oden/Pryzbilla return from injury?
A. It was a bit of a coup for Portland to pick up Marcus Camby for the expiring contracts of two players who had little (Steve Blake) to no (Travis Outlaw) role in the team’s future. The basketball culture is strong for the Blazers, and Camby seems stunned by the attention he received from the fans here—few defensive-minded centers who score less than eight points a night get standing ovations before even stepping onto the floor (like Camby did his first night in town). But, of course, that doesn’t mean he re-signs with the team either.

This team is hellbent on having two quality centers after it was exposed that Greg Oden’s knees are made of paper mache and Chinese drywall, and I think Camby’s future will be determined by Joel Przybilla’s comeback (which will take more time than Oden’s) and how the free-agent market shapes the Western Conference. Portland will want him back, but they don’t need him back.

Q. Does Bayless have what it takes to replace Blake?
A. Blake, yes. Miller, no. The problem with Bayless is that his potential is sky high, but he is not a “traditional” point guard and doesn’t mesh well with Brandon Roy’s style of play. But the franchise absolutely adores him, and he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Q. Couldn’t you guys have gotten more for Outlaw?
A. Had he not been injured, absolutely. But once Outlaw went down with that foot injury, his trade value went with him. Plus the only team that really wanted him (Memphis) has a poor relationship with Portland that stretches back to last year’s Darius Miles incident (where Portland was fined by the league for sending a letter that more or less threatened any team that signed him with the intention of hurting Portland’s books). I think Outlaw is going to win a Sixth Man of the Year award sometime soon, and is a fantastic personality as well. Portland might try to re-sign him during the offseason, since I doubt he stays a Clipper once the season ends.

Q. New Orleans/Memphis/Houston are hot on your heals, are the Blazers a playoff team?
A. Thanks for reminding me. The problem—and I use that term loosely—is that the Blazers really overachieved this year. The fact that they are still in the playoff hunt after losing Oden, Przybilla, Outlaw, Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez, and Brandon Roy for extended stretches of the year is shocking. After losing four of their last five (tonight’s Nets game not included in that equation), it seems like this team is running on fumes. Roy’s hamstring is clearly not healthy and he even briefly considered sitting out for the remainder of the season following last week’s game against the Clippers.

Thankfully the schedule is a bit more favorable for the Blazers in the second half, and most people think this team can limp into the playoffs as the eight seed. There, they will play the Lakers, who if I am not mistaken, are a team with limited talent, zero playoff experience, and no history of defeating Portland in the postseason whatsoever. That should work out just fine.

Q. Still wish you had Hedo Turkoglu over Andre Milelr? What would Portland fans think if the Blazers took Turkoglu back in a trade?
A. God no. I’ll always remember the day that deal fell through because it happened minutes after Sarah Palin resigned from the governor’s seat of Alaska. Without a doubt the news of Turkoglu rejecting Portland overshadowed the Palin story, which means a lot when you consider in how shamelessly liberal and progressive this city is (Google: “Little Beirut”). In a matter of a few short days Hedo was more hated in Portland than Palin. That’s saying a lot.

Hedo was just a poor fit for this team and fans were baffled that this franchise—which at that time had yet to renew the deals of Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge—would spend around $60 million on a player whose best days are most likely behind him. Hedo isn’t the devil, but he just wasn’t the right fit for what the Blazers are trying to build. Andre Miller, on the other hand, hasn’t been a perfect fit either, but after a few tough months he has eased himself into the roll the team requires of him.

I should have asked him how he feels about Oden being taken advantage of by some girl, and sending her some revealing pics of himself (NOT SAFE FOR WORK), but I gave him a pass. I mean, I would be proud too, but really?

If Bosh is a no go tonight, I have a few very serious concerns, and they revolve around the things Bosh does very well: scoring and rebounding. Sure Rasho had that breakthrough game, but you can’t look past the fact that they came against the Nets (16pts 7rebs 4ast), especially since against a young/mobile Wizards front court, he didn’t bring as much (10pts 1 reb).

This Portland team was very good defensively before Camby got there, and are even better now. Rasho needs to find the touch he displayed against the Nets, but more importantly, Amir and Reggie need to step up and score some points. During the last two games, the two have only contributed 19pts and 18rebs, not bad, but not quite enough. Rasho has done an admirable job the last two games, but realistically, he can’t be expected to carry the load in the middle. If Bosh plays, than all this moot.

Roy is on his 4th game back, and it only took two games for him to work the cobwebs and kinks out. Last night against the Nets he dropped 28pts 4rebs 4ast; we’re no Nets, but you have to think he can do the same. Since the all-star break, I have really appreciated DeRozan’s commitment to attacking the rim. Roy is definitely not 100% yet, and if DeRozan can run him around early, with Weems (Belinelli shouldn’t be taking any of Weems’ minutes away at this point) picking up where Kid Compton leaves off, we should see some favourable results.

What concerns me the most is what Ezra said about the Blazers over achieving – the sum of the whole being greater than the parts. That speaks to solid coaching, and players knowing their role. The Raptors best bet is to speed up the tempo and make the Blazers run; the Blazers are last in the league in pace averaging 89.9 possessions per game. They do have athletes, and get good shots (offensive efficiency of 107.3 is 6th best in the league), but if we make them run, and get them out of their comfort zone, good things will happen.

Looking at the schedule, Bosh’s injury couldn’t have come at a better time for the Raptors as he will have a full week to recover, while the Raptors play two of the worst teams in the East. A 17 point win, on the road, without your franchise player is a nice to way to respond to a situation, by confronting the situation and turning that situation into a non-situation.

I felt it tonight. I had a bunch of open shots at the beginning. With CB not playing, we were going to have play like a team and share the ball. That was our only chance to win. Knocking down the first couple, I relaxed a little bit. It’s much easier than if you’re struggling. All I can do is try and do my best. – Rasho Nesterovic

In my opinion, basketball is a game of rhythm and he hasn’t been in the lineup for a while. For him to come in and contribute the way that he did is really unbelievable. It’s a testament to him always been ready when called upon. – Jarrett Jack

Those two quotes say it all. Rasho was a great pick-up by Colangelo in the off-season: he doesn’t stir the pot, plays hard when he’s called on, and when folks are counting on him, he delivers. He played 11 minutes in the previous 6 games, but gets the start and drops 16pts 7rebs 4ast. Can he do this on the regular? No, but no other forward on the bench could have started the game, spread the floor, and move the ball around the way our boy did.

The Raptors looked like a totally different team last night, and I must say it was nice to watch. When you lose your franchise player, one of the very few people on the team who can create for himself off the dribble, there is only one way to win: share the ball. The Raptors took good shots, and made them. They moved the ball around, making the extra pass on almost every possession and found the right guy every time. 70% of the shots the Raptors made was assisted (30ast / 43fg).

“Any time your opponent shoots 60 percent for the game, you’re not going to have much of a chance to win” – Kiki Vandeweghe

The Nets did a marginally better job of offensive rebounding and protecting the ball, but whenever your eFG is 63.8%, and you’re getting to the line 34.7% of the time, good things are going to happen. Had the Raptors shot the ball from the line at the same rate as they have been doing all season (76.5%), they could have added another 5 points to the box. The poor shooting from the line can be directly attributed to Bosh being out – he’s shooting 79% on the season.

What is interesting is where the points were coming from (click image to enlarge):

With Bosh out of the game, the Raptors took only 9 shots inside of 15ft; and had an almost even split of layups/dunks (30) and jumpers (33, 12 from beyond the arc). Normally the closer you get to the rim, the better, but with all the swinging, pick-n-rolls, and penetration/kick, the shooters were wide open and knock them down. Even Hedo, yea…

Wizards tonight, pre-game should be up shortly.

It all went according to plan for the Raptors last night: spot an early lead, the second unit sparks the comeback, stay within a possession in the 3rd, then Bosh and Bargnani take over in the fourth to bring it home. Until 5 points in the last 37 seconds happens, the game goes to OT and the Raptors lose. As I sat there stunned, it dawned on me: Triano went out of his way to hand the game to the Grizzlies.

There seriously is no other explanation…

The Grizzlies played the night before against the Suns, and shook some of the cobwebs off before heading into Toronto. Since the Raptors were fresh off of a week of inactivity, you could excuse the lazy start to the game, and almost expected it. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t up in arms when Memphis started the game on a 15-2 run (I was pissed, but I wasn’t up in arms).

No one had an answer for Zach Randolph as he accounted for 13 (8pts 2ast) of the first 15 Memphis points. Short of a Reggie Evans nut-sac-special that never came, Randolph chewed up-and spit out everything thrown at him. Memphis was getting great looks from all over the floor. That was some of the best ball-movement I have ever seen in my life; it seemed like everyone on the court touched the ball twice before Mayo or Gay got wide open and buried their shots.

DeRozan, fresh off the All-Star whirlwind, was looking to attack early, which was great since the rest of the Raptors were still on holidays. He got out on the break, ran the floor, attacked the rim…it didn’t last as he quickly faded after the 1st quarter, but had he not hustled early, things would have been much worse.

It has gotten to the point where I count down the minutes until Calderon and Johnson check into the game. True to form, they checked in with Sonny Weems, and changed the pace. Most of that could be attributed to Hedo going to the bench; Memphis is an athletic team, and Turkolgu is to athleticism what Frank Zicarelli is to sports journalism.

The trio did spark the Raptors to a 10-0 run over a 5 minute span between the end of the 1st and beginning of the 2nd quarter. More importantly, they opened up some space for Bosh to get going offensively. With the team standing around stagnant on offense in the 1st quarter, it gave the Grizzlies the opportunity to crowd Bosh and force him to either take a bad shot, or kick out to the perimeter where nothing happened. With Calderon orchestrating and Johnson/Weems attacking, Bosh now had room to make some plays.

The 3rd quarter started like the game did, lame. The Raptors got 2 quick buckets, but went cold for 4 minutes where Memphis went on a 10-0 run to take an 8 point lead. Calderon/Weems/Amir/Wright check in, and all of a sudden you have athletic wings on the Raptor side, and voila…13-6 run to close out the quarter.

The 4th was tight, but the franchise stepped up and dropped 16 in the frame. The big treat was that 8 of those came from the line which meant he was attacking the rim off the dribble instead of settling for the jumper. Bargnani was a pillar on defense, and controlled the defensive boards keeping Randolph and Gasol under control and out of the paint. Calderon was protecting the ball and things were going good until Triano caved.

Jack and Turkoglu were playing terribly from the tip. Jack got pulled after 18 minutes and never saw the floor in the 4th, but for some reason, Hedo did. Turkoglu gave new meaning to crap last night: 1pt 1reb 2ast 1st 3to 3pf -29 in 29 minutes of action. The guy can’t keep up with younger, more athletic guards, hasn’t hit a shot all night, and just generally sucks. On top of that, he’s been sitting since the 6:37 mark of the 3rd quarter (about 15 minutes), so he is ICE cold. Who’s in your ear Jay? Do you really think it’s a good idea to bring in an ice cold player late in a tight game? What were you expecting him to do?

What he did do was foul Mayo, putting him on the line for two that obviously dropped, then a couple possessions later, he forces a 26 foot three that makes a ridiculous thud off the back of the rim, at which point Conley runs the ball back down the court and finishes the layup. He does zero in OT except for missing another ill-advised shot with the Raptors down 1 and a couple minutes left in the game. No ball son, no ball.

The second catastrophic mistake came at the 5:05 mark of the 4th, when Zach Randolph picked up his 5th foul of the game. Only once, a Bargnani basket in the paint, did the Raptors go at Randolph for the rest of the game. They didn’t get the ball to the guy Randolph was covering on defense to try and manufacture a foul; not one time did a pick and roll with the guy Radolph was covering occur to try to get a switch where he could be attacked off the dribble by a guard/wing. The thought of getting Randolph to foul out didn’t seem to manifest itself into a single play. WTF?

At the end of it all, this game came down to making shots (I can’t believe I said that), and the Grizzlies did a better job of it. They knocked down their jumpers, they got to the line more and hit more free throws. In fact, the Grizzlies hit as many free throws as the Raptors attempted, 23.

The only thing I’m hoping is for the Basketball God’s to smile down on us today so Colangelo can move Turkoglu for anyone; at this point I don’t care who comes back. At least we can look forward to the Nets on Friday.

A 23 point lead evaporated while the arena was chanting for Reggie Evans to check back into the game; but the Raptors withstood a furious rally from the Sixers to win the last game of the ‘first’ half of the season. It was a game of runs; Toronto had two to take the lead, and Philly went on one to get back into the game. At the end, it was Bargnani who was involved on every big play down the stretch who brought it home.

Anyone else think that if Philly held on to Andre Miller that they would be right there with the Raptors this season? Lou Williams isn’t really a PG, Jrue Holiday is learning and Iverson is Iverson. Miller has always been a thorn in our side…always…but I digress.

Jrue really brought (and finally gave me something this season for one of my fantasy leagues) it to Jack early and hard, dropping 4 dimes in the 1st quarter, all of which resulted in a WIDE open look for a Philly player who knocked it down. These quick point guards still give us a lot of problems, and the only way to deal with it, is to deal with it . It’s easier on nights when you play the Holidays of the league, but when you get the Pauls, Harris’ and Parkers, things get interesting.

The Raptors paced Philly early until Calderon checked in at the 2:27 mark, and just unleashed alley-oop hell on earth. On four consecutive plays, the Raptors went back door, and Calderon found them with perfect passes for dunks or layups. It felt like a video game it was that good. He even finished a layup in traffic to end the quarter. I know I keep saying this, but this is the role for Calderon, and he SHOULDN’T be traded unless we get a game changing starting wing for him. Anything less is unacceptable.

Reggie Evans has attained cult like status without playing a minute of ball this season, and when he saw the floor to a roar from the crowd, he didn’t disappoint. God bless him-his offensive game is as ugly as sin, but he fights hard. In 5 minutes he gave us 2pts 3rebs 1ast 1stl and this…

Apparently grabbing a dudes nut-sac is a good defensive strategy to throw them off their game…

Where I perked up off my seat was the 3rd quarter, where Toronto went on two runs to take a commanding lead, and Philly finished on a run to set the stage for a 4th quarter Rally. For some reason Eddie Jordan opted for small ball and went with Royal Ivey over Elton Brand, and was too proud to change it up when things started to go from bad to worse. In fact, he wouldn’t even call a timeout, forcing them play through it – I use play loosely, they just ran around mostly.

The Raptors started the quarter on an 17-7 run. The offense was coming in the paint, or from drive-and-kicks to an open shooter. DeRozan and Weems anchored the defense, and were all over Ivey and Green; stealing the ball, getting a hand in the passing lanes, contesting shots and drawing fouls. They had the perimeter on lock down to the point where I had totally forgotten about Turkoglu.

This whole time, not one timeout was called by Jordan, and if that was Triano, my eye would have popped out of my head. At some point, you need settle things down and focus the guys. By the time he called a timeout, the Raptors were on a 26-12 run, with 1:47 left in the quarter. So all the Raptors had to do was to maintain for under 2 minutes, get to the 4th and put them away…but no, Eddie decided to coach.

Brand and Smith checked in the game, and Lou Williams was given the red light. The result of which was a 10-2 run to close out the quarter with the exclamation mark coming with Jason Smith blocking Belinelli at the rim with a second left in the quarter. That my friends is how you close out quarters.

The furious ralley continued in the 4th with a quick 6-2 run for the Sixers, and the lead dwindled to 11, bringing the run to 16-4 from the end of the 3rd to the beginning of the 4th. From there, it was chip and charge. The Raptors were out of any rhythm and just couldn’t knock down the looks they were getting. Things got worse when Jack entered the game, and any fluid offensivability (I just coined a new word) the Raptors displayed in the 3rd went to the crapper.

For exactly three minutes, the Raptors offense was the worse I’ve seen it all season. The ball wasn’t being moved around, no one was moving, and every attempt was a desperation one with the shot clock winding down. Thaddeus Young ties the game up with a jumper, and my heart literally dropped into my stomach while I sunk into my couch until the amazing happened: Calderon draws a foul behind the arc, and the ball hops around a couple times until going through the hoop – 4 point play.

Bargnani closed out the game with a clutch three (what else is new), a couple free throws, a block on Iguadala at the 3 point line, some solid defense on Lou Williams on the perimeter and some boxing out in the paint to wrap it up. Done deal, the Raptors go into the All-Star break with a 29-23 record.

We’re heading into All-Star weekend, where Chris Bosh and DeMar DeRozan will be holding it down for Toronto. We have partnered with Dime Magazine to bring some exclusive interviews/images/videos from the game, skills competitions and after parties through the weekend. Make sure to check back regularly to stay updated. If you have a question for Bosh or DeRozan, ask them here, and we will do our best to get them answered. One love baby.

First up we have the Kings. I’ll be honest, apart from their Über rookie Tyerke Evans, Kevin Martin and Jason Thompson, I know nothing about this team. So I decided to check in with one of the best NBA bloggers out there, Zach Harper from Talk Hoops, Cowbell Kingdom and Hardwood Paroxysm, if you haven’t been following him, now is time…do it:

The Kings started the season on a tear of sorts, what slowed them down?
Reality didn’t help them keep their early season pace, that’s for sure. With the Kings, everything was so new and Jason Thompson was playing extremely well to begin the year. In fact, you could have even made the case for JT to challenge for the All-Star game after the first month in just his second year. But ever since they choked away back to back games against the Cavs and Lakers in late December, the team has been on a free fall. The defense has been nonexistent (just four opponents held under 100 in the last 22 games) and they’re getting nothing inside in terms of consistent offensive production. Their best post defender the past month has been Jon Brockman, who is 6′7″ with lifts in his shoes. Combine all of that with the fact that they can’t win on the road and their inability to close out games and it’s amazing they’ve held up this well as of late.

Looks like you have a player in Tyreke Evans; how good is he? What’s his ceiling? ROY?
The Kings franchise hasn’t had a young player this good with this high of a ceiling since Oscar Robertson and that’s not an exaggeration. Tyreke Evans is going to be a star in this league. He can dominate the game by driving to the basket and playing defense. And oh boy, his defense. He’s a really good defender and not just for a rookie. He can defend three positions. Now, if he learns how to knock down the three then we’re approaching dangerous territory. Rookie of the Year has all but been wrapped up for him for about a month now. He’s the only one putting together a full season so far. Jennings faded and Curry took too long to come on strong. Assuming he stays healthy, he should be unanimous for the ROY awartd.

Kevin Martin looks to be on the outs with Sac, and also a rumoured target of the Raptors, what happens to him in the next two weeks?
I doubt he’s going anywhere in the next two weeks. Kings want to see what they have with him and Tyreke in the backcourt. I think they can work perfectly together but they can’t freeze out the rest of the team while playing together (which has unfortunately happened since his return). They’ll give Martin at least the end of the season to see what they have with him and Evans. And if they can prove to be a 50-point backcourt that helps bring wins then there’s no way he goes anywhere.

Will Kenny Thomas finally prove to be useful for the Kings and bring someone back, or does he walk at the end of the year?
K9 had a couple of productive games sometime in late November or early December. And since then he’s disappeared. That might be because he sits behind Sean May and we can’t see him now because of it. I’m not sure. I don’t think the Kings will make any moves at the trade deadline. Martin would be traded for someone like Al Jefferson but that’s not going to happen. The Kings are better off doing a trade around the draft than this trade deadline. They’ll let K9 expire and unless a contender wants to take Nocioni, Garcia or Beno for cap relief, I doubt Sacramento does anything this season.

Anything you want to add?
I’m not sure what Chris Bosh’s career high is but against this Kings interior defense, I can almost guarantee he’ll break it. From what I’ve heard, Omri Casspi should have a big fan base at the arena on Sunday. I recommend watching him play. He’s very competitive, fiery and finds a way to contribute without ever getting a play called for him. He’s very fun to watch and easy to root for.

A lot of nice pieces on this Sacramento team. Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes have been heaven-sent for me in two of my leagues, Tyreke Evans is the reason I’m in second in one of my drafts, and I picked up Martin a week before he returned from injury, and am starting to reap the rewards (those 30 point games really help me keep distance with the folks behind me). Now all that needs to happen for me is for these guys to perform well, give me my points, but for the Raptors to win.

Jack and DeRozan will have their hands full with Evans and Martin, although they will be able to return the favour on defense. Udrih is their version of Banks, and as the first point guard of the bench…well, I laugh at that – HAH! I always liked Francisco Garcia, but he will be facing the three headed 2-by-committee who have been playing pretty good over the last few games.

What has me excited is that if the Kings have no one to cover Bosh, that also means they have no one to cover Bargnani; it will be up to them to take advantage and capitalize. I’m guessing in the vicinity of 50pts and 23reb between the two…that seems reasonable.

What worries me is that the Raptors haven’t played since Wednesday, and they usually come lethargic and sloppy in these situations. A young, athletic team like the Kings can get up and down if you sleep on them, and with the Raptors history of playing down…I just don’t want to go through one of those games where the Raptors spot a 10 point lead, and claw their way back to eventually win by 7 or 8.

Turkoglu may or may not go, and either way, I think we can expect the same production form him – just saying…

The gamblers have the Raptors as 8.5 point favourites with an over/under of 215.5.

I checked in with Mark Ginocchio from NetsAreScorching.com to talk about his team:

What, if anything, can the Raptors expect from the Nets?
The Nets have actually been playing a bit better the past week or so and I really believe they hit rock bottom during their West Coast trip in mid-January. Their defense has been crisper, and they’re starting o get more consistent contributions from guys like Jarvis Hayes and Terrence Williams. They’re still absolutely terrible offensively, and if the Raptors get into any kind of groove offensively, there is no way the Nets can outscore them. But I do expect the Nets to at least be more competitive than they were the first time these two teams matched up in December.

Are there any legs to the Amare trade rumours? Who are untouchable on the Nets?
I think the Nets front office is definitely looking to make a trade because there’s a legitimate concern that the team’s awful record is going to scare away a number of the big free agents this summer. If they could find a way to acquire one of those guys now and sign them to an extension, it could go a long way to helping them secure another FA this summer. Is Amare that guy? The Nets FO seems to be really backing away from those rumors, so I’m going to say no. I don’t think they believe he’s worth a max contract, and I can’t blame them for that. With that said, the only untouchable on this roster is Brook Lopez. Period.

What is Yi’s upside? How good has he been for you guys?
Yi is a mixed bag. Offensively he’s light years ahead of where he was a year ago. He’s more aggressive in taking the ball to the rim, but he’s also shooting from the outside with more confidence. However, he’s still a liability defensively and a poor rebounder for a guy his size. He could evolve into a nice rotation player on a winning team, but I can’t see him ever evolving into the “next Dirk” or anything like that.

Anything else you want add?
Hey, thanks for the opportunity. I’m sure most NBA fans think the Nets are a laughing stock, but with a top four pick guaranteed this summer, and the cap space to sign a FA or two, I think it’s going to be a quick turnaround. There are a lot worse situations to be in in this league.

The Nets are coming off a loss that came down to a last second shot against the Pistons last night; for some reason, Harris opted to sho0t a three from 27ft with 7 seconds to go (we can only hope he plays with the same judgement tonight). Otherwise, he had his best game of the year with 24pts 14ast 5rebs in 39min. The last time we played Jersey, Jack/Banks owned Harris, who had a miserable 8pts on 4-12 shooting to go with 5rebs 4ast.

Banks should get some burn tonight with Jose unlikely (at time of publishing); the last time they played, Marcus dropped 14pts on 6-7 shooting with 6rebs 1ast. He teamed with Jack (6pts 1reb 9ast) to really take it to Harris the whole game.

Brook Lopez came up big against the Pistons too, with 27pts 7rebs 2ast, but don’t expect the same when lined up against Bosh and Bargnani. My guess is that the two will take turns abusing Lopez and Yi. When Humphries (who also had a good night last night with 9pts 12rebs) checks in…we counter with Amir. While the Nets have nice players in the front court, they don’t scare me at all, and wont match Toronto’s production.

With Weems and Belinelli moved to the starting lineup, the Raptors bench wasn’t its normal self last night. I thought it a mistake to have both offensive spark-plugs from the bench start, and it looks like my feelings were validated with Weems posting a donut, and the bench only chipping in 21pts (they did contribute a solid 15rebs 15ast). With DeRozan and Turkoglu potentially out with injury, the most optimal rotation, that doesn’t rape the bench, would be the start Wright at small forward, keeps Weems at shooting guard, and bring Belinelli in the game as the first man off the bench. This maintains scoring off the bench, as well as improving defense on the starting lineup.

Both teams are on the second night of a back-to-back, but the Nets are on the road, and have a thinner bench. Even worse, they are missing Del Harris, who is no longer a member of the coaching staff; which has Yi feeling sad. The gamblers have the Raptors as 11 point favourites, and I can’t agree more. I can’t think of a better way to forget a 15 point loss, than with a 15 point win.

The Raptors roll into Indiana for the second game of a home-and-home; they are 3-1 in these games, 2-0 in the second game. In the podcast, I called the Raptors to go 3-1 in the next week (with the loss coming to Philly), but am leery about the game tonight. Winning the second game of a back-to-back is normally very difficult. The opposing team has a chance to make adjustments and come at you with a totally different game plan.

I checked in with Jared Wade from Eight Points, Nine Seconds to get his take on this game:

What will the Pacers have to do to beat the Raptors?
Pray. Seriously though, they certainly have to play better defense than they did the other night. It’s virtually impossible to win when you let the other team shoot 60.2% from the field. That’s just despicable. But despite what you saw the other day and despite the way Bosh and Amir got all medieval on Indy in the paint in the first quarter, defense hasn’t usually been the problem so much as the team’s inability to score. As bad as I’m sure it sounds, that game wasn’t nearly as frustrating as many of the other losses I’ve watched this year. I don’t expect a team with Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy and Roy Hibbert to be the 2004 Pistons or anything. And overall this year, Indy has been right around league average — often better — than the league average in opponents points per possession. I’m not sure how they do it, but teams don’t shoot that well against them. More often, the problem is just that they can’t keep up. Given their 43.3% shooting for the season (29th in the league, only above the Nets hard-to-believe 42.1%), it’s easy to see why they can’t score. But at home, against a Raptors team who I’ll just politely call “not intimidating,” it’s quite possible they get their jumpers to fall. If they can shoot at least 45% from floor, hit 11 or 12 threes and not turn the ball over too much, they can win.

Granger is an interesting player, he takes a lot of shots, and doesn’t seem to hit a high percentage. What are your thoughts on him?
He’s one of the best shooters in the league, but you wouldn’t know it by watching him this season. He has taken a lot of bad shots this season and gotten very few good looks. Given the problems I was discussing in the last answer, an off-balance three from Danny really isn’t even that bad of a shot for this team, honestly, but it’s still not a high-percentage look. In past years he has gotten his points as a “finisher.” He hits open jumpers on catch-and-shoot looks as well as anyone in the NBA, but he isn’t getting those this year as much. There is no one who drives and kicks. There usually isn’t enough good ball rotation to give him those 2-3 “there’s no one within 8 feet of him” threes per game that he knocks down in his sleep. He also isn’t getting many of those finishing buckets in the paint. The offense just doesn’t generate much of that stuff for anyone, let alone the one guy who defenses are gameplanning against. So he has to create open shots for himself off the dribble, which is something he is capable of but not elite at by any stretch of the imagination. Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t Michael Redd and is probably even better at “getting his” than Antwan Jamison or Rashard Lewis, but he’s not the type of guy you can just clear out for and let go to work. And he is so often frustrated out there that he ends up just settling for contested jumpers. The fact that he’s been hurt all year (starting out with a gimpy knee then missing a month with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot) also hasn’t helped him evolve into a better penetrator/creator off the bounce.

Who poses a bigger problem for you guys defensively: Bosh or Bargnani?
Bosh. Jim O’Brien’s defensive system is OK giving up the three, so although it will suck if Andrea starts banging em, it won’t exactly shatter the game plan. But this roster has no one who can even consider guarding CB4. He’s probably going to dominate in the paint again — early and often.

Anything else you want to add?
Injuries have really taken their toll on the Pacers this year, which while far from the biggest issue with this team, should be taken into account when you mock them. By all means, mock them — they deserve it. But just know that the front court has been decimated over the past month without Jeff Foster (with serious and potentially season-ending back issues) and Tyler Hansbrough (who had shin issues early in the year followed by an inner ear infection that has left him unable play due to dizziness/vertigo). Those are two guys who the team expected to rely on for defense, rebounding, energy and all the in-the-paint, hard-hat stuff that Troy Murphy and Roy Hibbert simply can’t do. I’m not saying Tyler would have prevented that Jose-to-Amir alley oop the other night or all of Amir and Bosh’s other interior dominance, but it probably wouldn’t have been quite as bad.

This wont be an easy game by any stretch. You could tell the Pacers were missing Foster/Hansborough on Sunday, now with Foster gone for the season, defending Bosh in the paint becomes even more an issue. The Raptors need to work the inside-out game from the tip. Pound the ball into Bosh, let him draw the double, and kick out to Bargnani for a three. At the very least, he can get Pacers bigs in foul trouble one-by-one. Bargnani was so efficient on Sunday, I’d like to see him get 15-16 shots tonight.

Given how poorly Granger shot last game, you can expect him to pick it up a bit tonight. Wright will have his hands full, but he has given us great defense on the perimeter over the last few games against some of the best in the business. A full game battling with Granger should be interesting. If Wright just contests every shot, and keeps Danny’s efficiency down, even if he drops 30 it wont hurt the Raptors very much. I count on Grangers suspect shot selection.

With Turkoglu out, the game has been taken off the board; I imagine that the line would be tight regardless. I’m thinking along the lines of a two possession game, with the Raptors holding on for a win.

Banks – I had totally forgotten he plays for this team.

Bargnani - Got exposed on defense, but the further away from the rim he plays, the less effective he is. Seems like every one of his shots comes at the most opportune moments, 8pts in the first quarter to steady a sloppy start to the game was huge. That block on Earl Watson man-on-man was the result of some great hustle.

Belinelli - Not sure what that was, but it wasn’t basketball, and it hasn’t been since the Lakers game.

Bosh – 26pts 15rebs 7ast 2blk … Wasn’t playing great defense either, but that dunk over Murphy was epic.

Calderon – At this point, lets close the books on this once and for all: Calderon excels off the bench, but is average as a starter. That alley-oop pass he tossed Amir at the end of the 1st quarter was insane.

DeRozan – At least he put on a proper shirt.

Evans – Looks great in an earth tone cardigan and top.

Jack – Didn’t do anything spectacular, but did a great job of tossing that entry pass to Bosh in the post. Efficient on offense, scoring 16pts on 6-8 shooting, and kept the defense honest with great ball movement. True to form, he had an ‘And-1′ situation off the hop.

The more I look at what he brings to the court, the more I see a bigger, stronger TJ Ford. Both have that same aggressive style off the hop, and shoot well enough from the perimeter to keep the defense honest.

Johnson – Was a spark off the bench, again. The only thing he didn’t do was shoot well from the line. More importantly, he had only 1 foul in 20 minutes of play.

Nesterovic – Shockingly got some play against a team that likes to run a quicker pace, even more shocking was 6 points on 3-4 shooting in only 4 minutes of play.

O’Bryant – Bet he’s looking forward to Big Love tonight.

Turkoglu - He ran into Dunleavy’s elbow and fractured his face a minute into the game. Ball.

Weems – His shooting doesn’t make me as nervous as it once did; doesn’t mean I wouldn’t rather see him put it on the floor and drive to the rim more often though. His production in a limited role is great to see – 13pts 6rebs 3ast, I really couldn’t be happier with the guy.

Wright – Played solid and in-control in extended play. When he doesn’t force the action, and hits his open jumpers, we have Bruce Bowen part 2 and the guy we all thought we inherited who defended the crap out of Melo in the playoffs.

Driving The Bus: Chris Bosh

Under The Bus: Marco Belinelli